Circular-knitting machine



Dec. 27, 1927.

J. w. METTLER ET AL CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 2 ,1925 4 Sheets-Sheet l Dec 27, 1927, 1,654,266

J. W. METTLEIR ET AL CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed April 24, 1925 4 Sheets- 511661: 2

i nihiii .4 Sheets .1. w; METTLER ET AL CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed A ril 24, 1923 ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 27, 1927.

JOHN WYCKOIF MET'ILER, OF EAST MILLSTQNE, NEW JERSEY,

DAVIS,

AND HAMILTON LEE MABTIINSIBURG, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE INTERWOVEN I MILLS, INC., 0]? NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 0'5 NEW JERSEY.

CIRCULAR-KNITTIN G MACHINE.

Application filed April 24, 1925. Serial H0 25,478.

Our invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reierence'heing had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate'one embodiment of the same, selected hy us ior purposes oi illustration, and the said invention is fully disclosed in the iollowinpg description and claims; I

The ohjiect of our invention is to provide a knitting machine for knitting a seamless stoclrine ei'the split ioot type in which the leer, heel and a plurality oi courses oi the sole portion, immediately iorward oi the heel aroall h'nit oi dyed yarn, the remaining portion oi the sole of the ioot portion,

and the toeheing lrnit with undyed yarn.

in the manuiacture oi split ioot stoclringrs heretoiore, provided with undyed sole and toeportiens, the entire sole portion was usually hnitted with undyed yarn and when the stechinpr was worn with low shoes, the upper corners oi the undyed sole adjacent to the heel, on opposite sides oi the loot,

showed shove the edge oi the shoe and pro-) duced unsightly sheet, which is very ohjectionahle, and which interieres with the sale oi this hind oi hosiery, i lie have dliu" covered that when a stochinpq is stretched upon the .ieot, the wales oi the sole portion immediately adjacent to the heel, on each a side oi the loci are drawn into such a posi tion that they eatend iorwardly and at a very sharp angle downwardly irom theupv is worn with low shoes or slippers.

per ierward corner oi the heel ateach side oi the etochmg, The machine oi this applicatien is constructed to innit a stoching provided with a plurality oi partial courses oi dyed yarn in the sole portion thereoi, immediately io'rward oi the heel heiore he ginnine, to lrnit the sole portion with an undyed yarn, thereby carrying the upper and. rear corners of the end ed sole coirsiderahly iorward and consi erably downward irorn the up or forward corners of the heel pocket set at the undyed sole portion will notbe visible when the stocling y desired number of such courses of dyed thread can be made in the sole so as to carry the upper rear corners of the undyed sole as ,iar downwardly and forwardly as may he desired to accomplish the result mentioned. Our present invention consists in an improved-knitting machine forthe com vided with iour main thread dicated in Fig. 2, at 1,2, 3 and 4t, located i manner.

mercial manufacture of this split foot stockin.

in carrying out our present invention,

We prefer to employ the well known Banner machine, such as illustrated in the United States Letters Patent to liemphill, No. 933,443, dated September 7, 1909, adapted for the manufacture oi split ioot stockings, and to males certain alterations and additions to this machine ior the purpose oi' carrying," out our invention, and producing the new stocking ahove descrihed,

in the accompanying drawings,

Fig, l is a partial iront view oi a lmittinp; machine emhodying our invention, 7

Fig. 2 is a top, plan view oi" the machine with the thread supporting devices removed,

and. illustrating the the thread guides.

Fig. it is a partialside elevation oi the machine,

Fig: i is a detail view oi our improved mechanism ior imparting a partial move ment to the pattern wheel, as hereinaiter descrihed.

5, 6, l, and d, are details-1 oi parts oi the mechanism,

Fig. 9 is a view oi the stoclrinp; produced by our improved machine,

its the construction oi the ldanner machine is so well lrnown, we will only descrihe the changes which we have made therein ior the purpose oi carrying; out our present invention. The machine is preierahly pro guides, as in general arrangement oi at one "isle of the circular series oi needles The cii'cular series oi needles includes a series oi long butt needles, which limit the front half of the leg and top oi the ioot oi the stocking, and a series oi short hutt needles which knit the hack of the leg", heel the sole of the foot and toe, in the usual Anauxiliary thread guide, indicated ate in the same figure, 1s also provided and located diametrically opposite to the first mentioned threadgui es, as is cus tomary in these machines.

In the operation of the machine for the production of our new stocking, the knitting of theleg and heel portion proceeds in substantially the same manner as heretofore, and involves no changes in the Banner ma- (ill htl

' the Banner split foot machine by imparting chine. In the ordinary operation of the ma: chine after the final widening courses of the heel are knit, the foot has been knit as a split foot fabric, by reciprocating knitting on each half of the needles, the needles knitting the top of the foot, being supplied with dyed yarn such as is used in the leg portion, and the needles knitting the sole'portion of the foot being supplied with undyed yarn.

This change is accomplished automatically in to the coarse ratchet toothed cam wheel, in-

dicated at 6, what may be-te'rmed a full forward pull,' equivalent to the distance between two adjacent teeth, which is imparted to it by the pawl, indicate at 7 in Fig. 7, whis'is lowered into positio to engage the wheel, 6, at such time, by the operation of the pawl supporter, 8, under theaction of a double feed lug, 9, on the pattern chain, 10, which has the effect on the commencement of the split foot, of restoring the long butt needles knitting the top of the foot,*to knitting position, by depressing the draw-down cam, 1ndicated at 11, in Fig. 1, and at the same time throwing out of operation'the thread guide which has supplied the dyed thread for the heel courses, and bringing into operation a thread guide supplying an undyed thread to the short butt needles, thelong butt needles being supplied with dyed thread from the auxiliary thread guide. In carrying out our invention, it is necessary to change the operation of the machine at this point, by imparting only a half pull to the cam wheel, 6, for the purpose of permitting the next half courses of the sole to be .knit with the same dyed thread which has been supplied by the proper thread guide of the Fig. 1, to insure the drawing down of the lon' butt needles, so that on the first half 1 pul imparted to the pattern mechanism,

after the heel is completed, the needles held out of operation during the knitting of the heel, will be drawn down in the same manner as they would be by the full pull of the ratchet wheel in the operation of an ordinary split foot Banner machine. At the proper point in the ratchet wheel, 6, a tooth is eliminated, as indicated at 13, and an extra tooth, or notch, indicated at 14, is provided between the tooththat iseliminated and the next tooth preceding, indicated at 15, so that,

when the pawl, 7 is drawn forwardly after the completion of the heel, the usual distance, it will not engage the wheel, 6, at the point, 13, but will slide forward until it strikes the extra tooth, 14, and will thus move the wheel only half-of the usual distance, or in other words, the distance between the dotted lines a: and y in Fig. 7. The wheel, 6, is moved the additional distance indicated between the dotted lines a: and z, in Fig. 7, or in.

other words, the bther half pull, after the c ompletionof the desired number of partial courses of the sole with the dyed thread, by other mechanism hereinafter described.

It also necessary to change the clutch operating cams, 16 and 17 (Fig. 1), in order to have the clutch operate in time with the new notch, 14, above referred to, and to this end, the cam, 16, is shortened the required distance, and the cam, 17, lengthened, as indicated at 17*, to insure the proper operation of the clutch after the completion of the heel.

In order to provide the second half pull on the wheel, 6, covering the distance represented between the dotted lines :2: and y, we have provided the stop motion wheel, 18, on its periphery, with a lug, indicated at 19, adapted'to be engaged b a pawl, '20, pivoted at 21, to a horizonta reciprocating bar 22, or slide, mounted in guides, 23, secure to the side frame of the machine and caused to reciprocate at theproper time, by connecting it with a suitable art of the machine for that purpose. In t is instance we have provided, the heel and toe evener dog, 24, with an extension, indicated at 25, provided with a plurality of apertures, 26, for the purpose of pivotally connecting thereto one end or a connecting rod, 2?, the other end of which is connected at 28, with the bar 22. The several apertures, 26, are provide forthe purpose of securing just the desired amount of tlirowfor the slide, 22, and its connected pawl, 20. Thus the pawl, 20, is drawn downwardly by a spring, 29, secured to a bracket, 30, carried by the slide, 22, for

the purpose of preventing it from jumping while the machine was inoperation, and we provlde means for holding the pawl,-20, out

of operation with the stop motion wheel, 18, until the time when it is desired that the pawl shall operate in connection with the stud, 19. For this purpose we provide the rear end of the pawl supporter, 8, with a lateral arm, indicated at 31 (see Fig. 5) carrying an adjustable stop, 32, secured thereto by means of a set screw, 33, and adjustable in a rotary direction on the rod, 31, so as toinsure its holding the pawl, 20, in such a position that it will not prematurely engage the stud, 19. When further, the pawl supporter, 8,.is operated by the engagement of a special link stud on the pattern chain,

provided for the purpose of dropping the pawl at a halfway point, with the V-shaped projection, 8, on the pawl supporter, 8, the

forward end of the pawl supporter will be raised anolvthe rear end lowered, carrying with it the rod, 31, and adjustable stop, 32, and permitting the pawl, 20, to engage the stud, 19, and impart the second half of the pull, represented as the distance between the dotted lines or and z in Fig. 7, to the ratchet wheel, 6, which brings all the parts of the machine into the same relative position which they would occupy had the ratchet wheel, 6, been given the normal or full pull at the conclusion of the knitting of the heel, and thus permitting the knitting of the partial or half courses of the sole immediately adjacent to the heel with the same thread carrier with which the heel itself was knit, and which carries a dyed thread. The other parts of the machine not specifically referred to, it will be understood are of the usual construction in the Hemphill split foot knitter.

We will now describe briefly the manner in which the machine is operated for the production of our improved split foot stocking. Thread guide #1, is supplied with a dyed thread of which it is desired to knit the main body of the le of the stocking. Thread guide #2, is supplied with a heavier dyed thread, suitable for usein knittin the high-splice heel and dyed portion 0 the sole. Thread guide #3 is supplied with an undyed thread of character suitable for the knit-ting of the sole of the stocking, forward of the section immediately in front of the heel, which, as before stated, is knit with the dyed thread. Thread guide #4, is provided with an undyed thread or threads, of a character suitable for the knitting of the toe band and toe pocket, and preferably somewhat heavier than the thread delivered by the.

thread guide, 3. The auxiliary thread guide,

"5, is supplied with the same character of dyed thread that is carried by the thread guide, 1, for knitting the top portion of the foot. y

Assuming that the stocking is to be knit from the top of the leg portin to the toe, and that in knitting a mans seek, the "usual ribbed top has'been transferred to' the needles of the machine, the leg portion isknitby circular knitting on all of the needles using thread guide #1, and feeding dyed yarn toall of the needles. The leg may be so knit to the heel pocket if desired, but we prefer to reinforce the high spliced portion above the heel, and therefore circular knitting is stopped at the top of the high spliced portion, and. reciprocating knitting is effected 'on all of the'needles," feeding the needles which knit the rear half or high spliced portion of the stocking by. means of thread guide, 2, carryingthe heavier-dyed thread,

and bringing into'aetion the auxiliary thread guide, 5, carrying the same kind of thread as guldel to knit the front portion of the leg, the'front and rear sections of the leg portion so knit being united at the sides by sutures, in the usual manner. As soon as the stitches. The auxiliary thread is thrown out of operation and theheel' is knit by-reciprocating knitting and narrowing and widening in the usual manner with the heavier dyed thread carried by thread guide, 2, to the end of the heel section. At this point reciprocating knitting on all of the needles is resumed by reason of the half pull imparted to the wheel, 6, throwing in the mixiliary thread guide 5 and leaving the thread guide, 2, in operation, thereby knitting a desired number of courses of split sole work with the finer dyed yarn from thread guide 5 in the A artial courses of the top of the foot with tie, heavier dyed yarn delivered by guide, 2, and previously used in the heel, forming the sole ,ortion adjacent to the heel as previously ciiascribed; After any'desired number of such courses have been made, which may be determined by the pine ing of the link in the'pattern chain'carrying the stud which trips that pawl supporter, 8,

operative relationwith the stud, 19, on thei stop motion wheel, 18, so that the forward movement of the pawl,.'20, will carr the ratchet wheel, 6, the additional hal' pull necessary to bring the parts into the position which the would normally occupy had the entire pull been given to the ratchet wheel, 6, after the heel courses are completed. This throws out of operation, thread guide, 2, and throws in thread guide, 3, carrying the undyed sole thread, the auxiliary thread guide, 5, remaining in operation and knitting of the split foot proceeds by reciprocating knitting on all the needles with the thread supplied by guides, 3 and 5, respectively, thus forming a split foot having an undyed sole. This's'plitfoot knitting continues to the point occu ied by the toe band, when the machine, un er the operation of the usual pattern mechanism, throws the thread guides 3' and 5, out of operation, and puts into operative position, thread uide,

4, carrying the heavier undyed thrca and the machine then operates by circular knitting on all of the needles to form a plurality of courses of what is known as the toe band,

mans' half hose, provided with the usual,

ribbed top, 102. 103 represents the highspliced portion above the heel; 105, the heel pocket, and 106 represents the partial courses in the sole immediately forward of the heel, which are formed of dyed thread, as are the leg, heel and top of the foot. 107 represents the portion of the sole forward of the courses, 106, and formed of undyed thread,

'- 108 represents the toeband, and 1091-0 resents the toe, both of which are tonne of undyed thread.

' What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1; In a split foot seamless stocking knitter ofv the kind described, in combination with the pattern mechanism thereof, for controlling the production of circular knitting,

split work knitting, and reciprocating work on asection of the needles with narrowing and widening, including a ratchet wheel, and

pawl mechanism therefor, means called into 0 ration after the completion of the heel of t e stocking,'for operatmgsaid pawl mechanism to impart apartial movement to. said ratchet wheel, to effect the resumpt on of split work knitting while continuing in operation the thread guide employed for supplying thread for heel, and separate independent pawl mechanism, a rotary part operatively connected with said ratchet eel and provided with a projection in the path of said independent pawl mechanism,

and means called into operation after the formation of a predetermined number of courses of the foot adjacent'to the heel for actuating said independent pawl mechanism,

to effect a further rotary movement of said ratchet wheel, and throw out of operation the-said thread guide, and throw mtooperationI-a se arate thread guide for supplying the neec les knitting the sole portions of the remaining courses of the foot.

2. In a split foot seamless stocking knitter of the kind described, in combination, pattern mechanism including a ratchet 'wheel,

rovided atone point with a special tooth spaced at substantially half the normal distance between teeth'from the preceding tooth and one and a half times the normal distance between teeth from the succeeding tooth, a

pawl engaging said special tooth to pro'duce a half pullof the ratchet wheel at one point in;itcrevolution, a stop motion wheel operatively connected with said ratchet wheel, and provided with a peripheral lug, a pawl for en aging said lug to impart a second half u l to said ratchet wheel, means for holdmg said last mentioned awl out of operation until a plurality 0 foot courses following the completion of the heel pocket are knit, and means for dropping said pawl into position toengage said lug, and for actuating said pawl. v

3. In a split foot seamless stocking knitter of the kind described, in combination, pattern mechanism, including a ratchet wheel, provided at one point with a special tooth spaced at substantially half the normal distance between teeth from the succeeding tooth, a pawl engaging said special tooth,to produce a half pull of the ratchet wheel at one point in its revolution, a stop motion are'knit, means for lowering said pawl into operative relation with thesaid lug, a re ciprocating bar to which said pawl is pivoted,

and a link connecting said reciprocating bar to the heel and toe evener dog operating shaft for reciprocating said bar.

4. In a split foot seamless stocking knitter of thekind described, in combination, attern mechanism, including a ratchet w eel provided at one point with a special tooth spaced at substantially half the normal distance between teeth from the preceding tooth and one and a half times the normal distance between teeth, from the succeeding tooth, a pawl engaging said special tooth to produce a half pull of the ratchet wheel at one point in its revolution, a stop motion wheel operatively connected with said ratchet wheel, and provided with a peripheral lug, a pawl for engaging said lug toimpart a second half pull to said ratchet wheel, a pivoted p'awl supporter for holding the first mentioned pawl out of operative position, a pattern chain provided with studs for operating said pawl supporter, a part connected with said pawl supporter for normally engaging said second mentioned pawl and holding it out of operative relation with the said lug, and means for operating said last mentioned paw'l, and a special lug on the pattern chain for operating said pawl supporter.

5. In a split foot seamless stocking knitter of the kind described, in combination, pattern mechanism, including a ratchet wheel, provided at one point with a special tooth spaced at substantially. half the normal distance between teeth from the preceding tooth, and one and a half times the normal distance ,tively connected pull to said ratchet wheel,

vciprocating bar to between teeth from the succeeding tooth, a pawl engaging said special tooth to produce a half pull of the ratchet wheel at one point in its revolution,

with said ratchet wheel, and provided with a peripheral lug, a pawl for engaging said lug to impart a second half a pivoted pawl supported for holding the first mentioned pawl out of operative position, a pattern chain provided with studs for operating said pawl supporter, a part connected with said pawl supporter for normally engaging said second mentioned operative relation which said last mentioned pawl is pivoted, an arm connected with the shaft of the heel and toe evener dog, and a link connecting saidarm and said reciprocating bar, and a special lug on the pattern chain for operating the pawl supporter to lower said last mentioned pawl into operative relation to the said peripheral lug.

6. In a split foot seamless stocking knitter of the kind described, in combination, pattern mechanism, including a ratchet wheel, provided at one point with a special tooth spaced at substantially half the normal disa stop motion wheel operapawl and holding it out of with the said lug, a retance between teeth, from the preceding tooth, and one and a half times the normal distance between/teeth from the succeeding tooth, a pawl engaging said special tooth to produce a half pull of the ratchet wheel at one point in its revolution, a stop motion wheel operatively connected with said ratchet wheel, and provided with a peripheral lug, a pawl for engaging said lug to impart a second half pull to said ratchet wheel, means for holding said last mentioned pawl out of operation until a plurality of foot courses following the completion of the heel pocket are knit, means for lowering operative relation with the said peripheral lug, means for operating said pawl, clutch operating cams operating in timed relation with said special tooth, on said ratchet Wheel, and a draw-down cam for the needles held out of operation during the knittingof the heel pocket, provided with a laterally extended portion to insure the drawing down of said needles after the said first half pull on saidratchet wheel.

In testimony whereof we' aflix our signatures. a

JOHN WYCKOFF' METTLER. HAMILTON LEE DAVIS.

said pawl into 

